Vietnam among countries with highest ageing rate

Vietnam is among the ten countries with the highest ageing rate from
now to 2050, a recent report by the United Nations has shown.

This fact was highlighted by Director of the National Geriatric
Hospital Pham Thang at the second international conference on ageing in
Hanoi on November 15.

He said that an ageing
population is a global phenomenon and Vietnam is no exception. In
2012, it was officially listed as having a higher number of older people
every year. Such a population trend has a profound impact on every
nation and its people socially, economically, politically, culturally
and psychologically. The health sector will have to cope with this new
challenge, he noted.

Meanwhile, Director of the
Health Ministry’s Department of Medical Services Luong Ngoc Khue
reported in more detail about the growing lifespan of Vietnamese people.
At present, the average life expectancy in the country is 73, while 50
years ago it was just 40. In that time the global average has increased
by 21 years.

From 1979 to 2009, Vietnam saw a
rise of 1 million old people for each decade. The increase now stands at
1.2 million every two years, bringing the total elderly number now to
8.65 million, Khue stressed.

The conference, the
second of its kind, included two plenary sessions. It offered a chance
for domestic and foreign experts to share experiences and update
advanced technology in health services for the elderly.-VNA